Never Be The Same
by LadyTND
Summary: Jesse must work together with a former thief to prove himself. But he may have signed up for more than he bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

**Ch1**

"So, who would you bang between Oprah or Megan Fox?"

Jesse stared across the desk at his partner-turned-best-friend and shook his head, "Megan Fox?"

"Dude, serious?" Bumper asked him, looking genuinely confused. "Oprah's a legend. She'd spread you all over like peanut butter and then buy you a new car."

"I'm not really sure what that means-" Jesse glanced up when the door open and sat straight up in his seat. "Chief's here."

Chief Posen was a tall, thick, boulder of a man who commanded respect from everyone he met. He was also a complete ass who hated Jesse with every fiber of his being – which made Jesse's life a little more difficult, not just because he worked for the man, but also because he was engaged to his only daughter.

Aubrey Posen walked in behind her father, the both of them looking very serious as they discussed something. They disappeared inside of his office and Bumper took that opportunity to continue his reasons of why Oprah was so amazing.

Jesse tuned him out and focused his attention on the Posey's. Aubrey was mad –signature hands on her hips and lips pursed. Jeffery Posen sat behind his desk with his fingers making a temple in front of his chest while his lips moved and his head shook back and forth to whatever she was saying.

She threw her arms up in the air in frustration before placing them back on her hips and then both of the Posen's turned and looked straight at Jesse. He startled and accidentally ended up kicking Bumper, who stopped mid-sentence and followed his gaze, "Well that doesn't look promising."

Chief Posen stood and left his office, Aubrey following closely behind. "I have a job for you _boys_."

Bumper saluted him, "Aye aye, we're ready for action!"

Jeffery closed his eyes and sighed a little, "This is so simple that not even you two can mess it up."

"Ah, but I bet we can! OW!" Bumper shot a glare at Jesse while he rubbed his shin which had just been kicked.

"What do you need us to do, Chief?" Jesse asked, ignoring his friend.

"Picking up a package." He flipped a card at him, "There's the address and information you need. I don't care what you have to do to get this 'package' but if you return without it, so help me-"

"Dad." Aubrey scolded, rolling her eyes.

Jeffery forced a smile at the two of them, "Go on, I don't have all day."

* * *

"OHMIGOD."

Jesse sighed as he made the next turn. Bumper had been repeating this one thing for the last five minutes, after he finally wrestled the card from Jesse's hand and realized that they were going to an all-girl's college.

"Say that one more time and I'm kicking you out of the car."

"Do you even understand what this means?"

Jesse groaned.

"They wear school uniforms! UNIFORMS! Like, sexy little skirts and fierce sweaters!" Bumper shouted, gleeful.

"Fierce sweaters?"

"Not to mention the fact that they're naughty!"

Jesse took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Okay Bumper, I'm going to need you to stop being a horny little teenager and take this seriously. This is our doorway into Jeffery's good side and if we ever want to get another case then we need to do this right. Without restraining orders."

Bumper bit his knuckles, "You're right, you're right. Okay, I got this. I'll keep it toget-OMIGOD LOOK AT THEM!"

"Keep it together, remember?" Jesse reminded him while he pulled into a parking spot and parked. "Lets go."

Jesse ended up having to drag Bumper away from the girls roaming the halls and gardens and finally they made it to the Headmaster's office, whom then sent them to the other side of the castle-like school and out the back door to (much to Bumper's delight) a massive pool.

Bumper literally fell to his knee's and placed his hands in a prayer pose and loudly thanked the heavens. Some of the girls turned to glare in their direction and a bunch of eye-rolling happened. Jesse could have strangled him, instead he settled with smacking him in the back of the head and yanking him to his feet.

A girl in the smallest bikini he had ever seen before walked by their path and Jesse stopped her, trying his hardest to keep his eyes trained on her face. "I'm looking for a Beca Mitchell?"

The girl looked him up and down before smiling up at him and crossed her arms, pushing her breasts up. Nope, not gonna look. Damn, ok he looked but just that once. "She's the one over there, sitting on the side."

Jesse thanked her, eyes averted and pulled Bumper along with him to the girl in the black bathing suit, gently kicking her feet back and forth in the water.

"Beca?"

The dark-haired girl looked up at him almost as if she had been expecting his arrival, her spike earrings glaring angrily in the sunlight. "I was expecting you a little sooner."

"Wait, you knew we were coming?"

Beca brushed her fingers through her hair and used the hairband on her wrist to fasten a ponytail on the top of her head. "Well, I keep up with things like this. Call it an old habit."

"Things like this…." Bumper trailed off, raising his brows at Jesse.

She looked up at the two of them as if they were complete morons, "You don't even know why you're here talking to me?"

Jesse and Bumper exchanged looks, embarrassed. "We were just told to come pick you up."

"And I'm just suppose to get up and go with you?" she asked, turning back to the pool. "Why should I do that?"

"Uhhhh..because we'll ask nicely?"

Beca looked back at him and laughed, "You're such a weirdo."

"I could carry you out." Bumper told her, "I could carry you out _reeeeeal_ good."

"That's creepy." Jesse smacked him, "Don't say that. Actually, just stop talking. Look, Beca, this is a really big deal. Our Chief, my future father in law, basically sticks us with all of the paperwork and refuses to let us see the light of day. So if you could do me this solid, I'll owe you one."

Beca looked up at him thoughtfully before holding a hand out for him to help her up, which he obliged. "You're a sharer, huh?" her eyes flashed with something he couldn't decipher while she pulled on a cover-up and zipped it up over her bathing suit. "Okay then, I'll come with you. Don't forget though, you owe me one."

As soon as the three of them got into the car Beca leaned her head against the window and stared out of it, not saying another word even though both himself and Bumper tried to get a conversation going. They finally gave up and started talking about Chief Posen. About how awkward dinners with Aubrey's father were and how he constantly paired Aubrey on cases with his favorite little follower, Luke.

"We're here-" Jesse started as soon as they pulled into a parking spot but Beca was already out the door and headed inside.

Jesse and Bumper hurried after her and managed to catch up right before she got to Chief Posen's office. He was inside with both Aubrey and Luke and the three of them turned to face the arriving trio when Beca cleared her throat, announcing their arrival.

Chief Posen leaned back in his chair, "Beca Mitchell."

"Yours truly."

His gaze moved from her and settled on Jesse, "You can go now."

"Dad!" Aubrey scolded, rolling her eyes.

The Chief cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes, "Good work. You can go now."

Jesse clenched his fists and plastered a smile on his face before turning and marching over to his desk. Bumper parked his butt on the edge of Jesse's desk, "What do you think they're talking about?"

"I don't know…" Jesse muttered, flipping open a file. "I'll probably never know. I am so sick of that man treating me like I'm the scum of the earth."

"You should deck him, just once."

"And spend the rest of my life in prison? I'll pass."

Bumper made a thoughtful noise, "Your luck might just be changing."

Jesse frowned over at him, "Why do you say that?"

"Turn around."

Jesse swiveled in his chair to find the four occupants in Chief Posen's office staring through the glass window and straight at him. All of them looked a bit shocked except for Beca, who had a small smile on her face and was pointing directly at him.

"Oh shit. This can't be good."


	2. Chapter 2

"I assume you know why you're here."

Beca tilted her head at Chief Posen, "Hopefully it's not for you to ask me out on a date."

She bit back a smile when he let out a long, annoyed breath. "You're here about the-"

"Le Bijou du Roi, The King's Jewel." Beca faked a yawn, "Or more famously known as the Hope Diamond. So, it's missing, huh?"

The blonde girl looked at her with a mix of confusion and maybe a little bit of accusation. "How do you know that? No information about the diamond missing has been released. The whole thing has been kept _very_ hush-hush."

Beca snorted, "That's cute, little blonde girl. I've been procuring items like this since I could walk. So let's just say that something like this doesn't just happen without someone with my…background…knowing about it."

She scoffed, "Procuring? I think you mean _stealing_."

"The people in my profession don't like to use that term."

"You are a con artist and a thief." She spat out angrily, turning to face her father. "Why is she even here? The Hope Diamond is already stolen, we can get it back without her 'help'."

"Oh you'll get a Hope Diamond, I agree. However, the only Hope Diamond you'll find will be a fake. Don't worry though, just keep it sealed behind some glass and none will be the wiser." Beca put up a finger, "Waaaaait. That's right, I remember now, there's a tour coming up in two months featuring the Hope Diamond isn't there. Mmmm _that_ might make things a little more difficult, seeing as there will most likely be a few gemologists here and there. Hey, you got this covered though, I'll just head back to school."

Beca stood and headed toward the door, stopping only when Chief Posen called her name. "Obviously you know that we need you Beca, you're one of the best."

"That's true but what's in it for me?"

Chief Posen leaned back in his chair and pursed his lips at her, looking disgusted about what he was about to say. "The director has advised me to offer you a clean slate."

Beca's lips curved up, "Which means what? Just so we're clear."

He heaved a sigh; no doubt he was totally against this clean slate idea. "Exactly what I said. Your criminal record will be wiped clean. You'll be free to leave the school, the state, you'll be off the no-fly list so you can even leave the damn country, and you won't even have agents monitoring you anymore. BUT you will not be protected from future crimes. If you can't keep your sticky little fingers to yourself after this mission, we won't go easy on you."

Beca returned to her seat and crossed her legs, smiling at the Chief. "You won't have to worry about that. I gave up the life of crime."

Aubrey snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I guess it's time to get my team together." Beca announced.

"Ah!" Chief Posen held up a finger, " _My_ men are going to assist you, the director might trust you but I do not. Five of my agents will be with you for every part of your 'plan' to retrieve the diamond."

Beca narrowed her eyes at the man, "Two."

"There is no way in hell-"

"Two." Beca interrupted, holding up two fingers. "Or I walk out that door and don't return. I'll let you explain to the director what happened."

Jeffery Posen's face was turning purple by this point, he clenched his teeth together angrily. "Fine, bu-"

"And I know just the two for the job." Beca told him, smiling as she turned around and pointed one finger straight out the glass and at the two nerds who had brought her here. _Yep, they would be perfect._

* * *

"So, can I ask you something? Why exactly did you pick us?"

Beca slid into the back seat and waited for the two men – her new partners, ha! – to climb into the front. "There was just something about you two. I really believe in you."

"Really?"

 _Good Lord._ Beca thought. "No, not really. I knew picking you two would be the easiest way to get under that old troll's skin. Besides, you two are newbies. Much easier to deal with that the seasoned agents."

Jesse either wasn't affected by her comment or he chose to ignore it, "What do we do now?"

"Now we go and gather up my team." Beca informed him, "One of you wake me when we get to the airport."

"Airport?!" Bilbo (or whatever his name was) exclaimed, looking at her like she was crazy. "We can't just call them?"

"We could, I suppose. Of course, I would have to have their numbers, which I'm sure have changed a few times over by now. Also, I've been trapped at that school for almost two years. I'm itching to get out of here."

Almost four hours later the three of them were boarded on a plane and headed to Russia. Bumper ("Like on a car, Beca!" he had told her earlier) had passed out soon after they took flight, his face pressed against the window. Jesse was planted on the other side of her, flipping through a magazine about how to lose 10 pounds in only 10 days! Wahoo.

He set the magazine down on his lap and glanced over at her. "I bet it sucked to be under house arrest for so long…or would it be school arrest?"

"It wasn't so much of a 'house arrest' as it was a daycare for me to stay at until I turned 18 and could be transferred to prison."

"Prison…."

"Yeah, you haven't heard of it?" she snapped, "It's a giant holding cell for criminals."

That shut him up, but not for long. "Does your family get to visit you at the school?"

"I don't have a family." Beca turned her head so that she was looking at him. "They died. The only people I have that are like a family to me is my team, but of course they couldn't come sign up for a day pass because then _you guys_ would be all over them."

She was surprised to see that he actually looked almost ashamed. _This guy is never going to become a field agent; he doesn't have the heart for it. He'll be sitting behind his desk in fifty years, filing paperwork until he's old enough to retire._

"What did you get caught for?" he asked quietly after another few minutes of silence.

Beca let out a small chuckle and turned to face the front of the plane, "Stealing the Mona Lisa."

* * *

"Dude, if I had known we were going on a frikkin hike up te mountain I would have just went to the bar and let you two handle this part, or at least charged my fitbit." Bumper complained.

"We're almost there, stop being such a baby." Beca scolded, though she was secretly relieved that she wasn't the only one panting from the climb up the steep road. Her knee's and feet were aching by the time they finally got to the top and she used the back of her arm to wipe off a thin layer of sweat from her forehead. "We're here."

No sooner had Beca uttered those two words did she hear a loud, familiar voice shouting 'move it or i'll crush you!' and then she was lifted into the air with a giant bear hug and a squeal. "Can't...breathe..."

"Fat Amy! Put her down!" Chloe shouted, instantly wrapping her arms around Beca when she was released.

"Sorry Beca, it's just been so long!" the cheery Australian grinned. "I missed my best mate."

"I thought _I_ was your best mate." a tiny voice fake objected from behind them.

"Benji!" Beca laughed, squeezing between the two girls and hugging her oldest friend. After the small reunion Beca turned around to shoot her two little babysitters a grin. "This is the team.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a mere thirty minutes later that the six of them squished together at a booth inside of a local pub. Jesse was pressed up against the wall with Beca on his right side and Chloe on the other side of her, sandwiching her in between them. Fat Amy (did he really have to call her that?) was bobbing her head to match the beat and sang in a very high pitch voice, while Bumper kept shooting her looks as if she had a third arm growing out of her head and if he got too close he the same would happen to him.

Benji sat directly across from Jesse and he could tell by the way that the boy's eyes lit up that he was excited about the prospect of working a case. He went to open his mouth to speak but Fat Amy (he was not going to get use to that) beat him to the punch, "Please tell me that Leo De-hottie-o is going to team up with us!"

Jesse and Benji exchanged confused looks before Benji piped up. "Not _Blood Diamond_. We're talking about The Hope Diamond."

"Well I for one think that this is a horrible idea." Chloe interjected. "The diamond is cursed. Everywhere it goes, death follows – not just if you own it, Beca. The curse works even if you freaking _touch_ it."

"Chlo," Beca objected, rolling her eyes. "That's not real, it's just a story to deter people from stealing it."

"Well that didn't seem to work." Bumper replied. "I guess I should actually be glad that it got stolen, since we finally got assigned to our first case because of it and all."

Jesse kicked him under the table but it was too late. Chloe looked back and forth between the two of them, "Wait. _First_ case? Beca, you brought a couple of _brownies_ to _help_ us?"

"Hey!" Bumper objected.

"They're fine." Beca told her in response. "It's not like it matters, they're pretty much just babysitting us."

"HEY!" Both Bumper and Jesse objected this time.

"No offense."

Jesse frowned at her, "That is what people say when they definitely _do_ mean offense."

He watched her lips curl up towards a smile before she caught herself and pressed her lips together in an effort to stop it. Even though she had stopped her smile, her eyes were alight with laughter and Jesse couldn't help but notice just how beautiful this girl was. She raised her eyebrows at him and only then did he notice that he was staring.

He could feel his face turning red as he turned away from her. "Bumper and I are good at our job."

"Uhh, how do you know you're good at your job if you've never done any field work?" Fat Amy questioned them. "That's pretty hysterical."

Bumper looked about ready to push Fat Amy out of the booth. Jesse's phone buzzed angrily in his pocket. "Hey, we wouldn't be here if we couldn't do this."

He clicked the answer button and pressed his phone to his ear, "Hello?"

"Wow, ok it's really loud where you are." His fiancé's voice told him. "Speaking of…where exactly are you?"

"I'm uh…in _hush-uh."_ He mumbled quickly, making it impossible for her to make out what he said.

"You're where?" she demanded.

Jesse sighed, "I'm in Russia."

The line was quiet for so long that Jesse had to check and make sure that their call hadn't gotten disconnected. It hadn't.

"What do you mean you're in _Russia_?" she shouted, making him wince. "You're in a different COUNTRY and you didn't think about maybe, I don't know, calling your future wife and making sure that she was aware of it?!"

"I-uh. Hey, can you guys let me out?" he asked Beca and Chloe, who then began scooting out of the booth to let him free. Jesse made his way outside of the pub, dreading this conversation. "Babe, I'm sorry. You're right, I should have called you – it just happened so fast that I didn't get the chance."

"When are you coming back?"

Jesse winced, "I'm not exactly sure…"

"Jesse, darling, it's really hard to plan a wedding when the groom is off gallivanting around the world."

"I'm not gallivanting around the world. I'm working." He objected. "This is a really big deal for me, for us! You know how your dad feels about me and now I'm finally getting the chance to prove to him that he's wrong about me and that I _can_ do this. We still have six months before the wedding and we've already taken care of all the big stuff, we will have plenty of time to do the cake testing and you I'm not even suppose to be there when you get your dress.

He could practically _hear_ her disapproval in the silence through the phone but when she spoke again her voice sounded much more cheerful, "You're right. We have time. Just get out there and nail this case."

Jesse grinned, "I'll see you soon."

* * *

Jesse spread a thick layer of blueberry cream cheese onto half of a bagel before plopping down across the table from Benji, who was reading a newspaper in the middle of the hotel's restaurant. Benji glanced up at him for a moment before turning his attention back to the paper, "Rough night?"

Jesse frowned and ran a hand through his disheveled hair, "Gimme a break, I just woke up and was starving."

Benji shot him a smile before looking down at his watch and then glancing over at the door with a small frown on his face. Jesse looked over his shoulder to try and see what the problem was but he didn't see anyone there. "What's wrong?"

Benji looked at him and Jesse could tell that he was trying to decide whether or not to let him in on what he was so worried about. "Beca's late."

"Did she run to the store or something?" he asked, a sinking feeling hitting him hard in the stomach.

"Not…exactly."

"Fess up, Benji. Where is she?"

"I really don't think she'd be too happy with him for sharing that little piece of information with you. Seeing as we don't really plan on using you guys for help, we've been doing this for longer than you'd believe. Help is the last thing we need, or want."

"I could really care less what you guys want or don't want." Jesse retorted, anger seeping into his voice. "Whether you guys choose to believe it or not, the FBI – that means _me and Bumper_ – are running this show. Yes, she as well of all of you are here to help but this is _our_ show."

Chloe listened to his whole rant before she started to giggle, "Whatever you say."

"It _is_ whatever I say. So tell me where the hell she went!"

"Ooohh, someone put on their sassy pants today!" Chloe exclaimed, full on laughing now. "She's just meeting with someone about a lead."

Benji still looked unsettled and Jesse could tell just by his nervous demeanor that there was something that he knew and wasn't telling him. Jesse caught his eye, "Benji, _what_?"

"Her meeting is with Sergei Mikhailov." Benji finally admitted, casting his eyes down at the table.

"WHAT?" Both Chloe and Jesse shouted, jumping to their feet simultaneously.

"I wasn't supposed to say anything." Benji tried to explain. "I tried to talk her out of it but she said that she would be fine and she had everything under control and that she'd be back in an hour."

Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and pointer finger, trying to compose herself. "So you just let her go off with the boss of the freaking Russian mafia and didn't think that you should stop her or at least tell anyone?!"

"You know how Beca is! I _tried_ to talk her out of it, I told her it was a really bad idea! But she doesn't listen to reason!"

"How long has she been gone?" Jesse demanded.

"Like…three hours?" Benji squeaked out.

"THREE HOURS?" Chloe shouted, making heads turn towards them. "Oh my God. This is not good."

"What's not good?" Fat Amy asked, her and Bumper strolling over to the table together.

Jesse arched a brow at his friend, who was rather disheveled and looked a bit guilty yet smug at the same time. _Oh Lord…_

"Not much, except for Beca decided to go run off with a Russian mafia boss, excuse me not 'A' Russian mafia boss – _THE_ Russian mafia boss."

"Ah, sweet, that sounds like fun!" Fat Amy grinned before earning a glare from Chloe and dropping her grin just as fast. "Umm, just kidding."

Jesse had had enough of all this talking when Beca could possibly be in trouble. "Let's go find this guy."

"What guy are we looking for?" her voice asked from behind their group, catching all of them by surprise. All five of them whipped around.

"I'm starving." Beca told them before taking a seat, "Did you guys already order?"

"Are you insane?!" Jesse demanded, "Seriously - are you? Why would you go off to meet a mafia head-honcho _all by yourself?_ "

"You were asleep." She shrugged.

"Can you guys excuse us?" he asked the rest of the table while his eyes were locked on Beca, who looked a bit amused.

Slowly the others dispersed and Beca and Jesse were alone at the table. "Beca, what do I need to do for you to trust me?"

The look on her face was complete surprise, "Wow, I was expecting a lecture."

"I just want us to be able to work together and finish this, then you can go off and do whatever it is that your heart desires."

She thought about his words for a moment before nodding, "Then I guess I should tell you what I learned from Sergei Mikhailov."


End file.
